


Hunker Down

by eversingingleaves



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-22 09:36:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8281243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eversingingleaves/pseuds/eversingingleaves
Summary: Five times Hunk made sure everyone was okay, and the one time he wasn't.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hunk is my favorite cinnamon roll, bros. Not much shipping in this one- will be some allura/shiro and lance/keith if you squint really hard. Basically a 5+1 because why not.

It’s late, but Hunk can’t sleep. He’ll never get used to the feeling in the back of his mind, the slight prickling of mental goosebumps that tells him Yellow is awake and- somehow slightly grumpy. The paladin shrugged on a robe- yellow, of course, but also fuzzy- and went to go check on his lion. Slippered feet made no noise on the ship’s floor as he approached the hangar. After their first fight, Allura had shown them all the slower, more normal route to get to the launch bays. Hunk still wasn’t convinced that sliding down a giant tube into a rocket that launched them into their lions was actually faster, but he didn’t want to argue the point.

He shuffled through the doorway to find Pidge on the floor, laptop in hand. Wires ran from the computer to Yellow, big cables that Hunk instinctually knew were what was making his lion frustrated. He paused, frowning at both Yellow and the other paladin.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked Pidge, making them jump. They flailed in surprise, almost dislodging the laptop; Hunk rushed over and caught it before the computer hit the floor.

“Didn’t mean to scare you- Sorry, Pidge,” he said, setting the delicate equipment down gently.

“It’s okay- it’s fine. Figured I’d do some updates while everybody was out,” Pidge replied, scooting back to give Hunk room to sit down. Hunk raised an eyebrow at them, glancing between Yellow and Pidge.

“Time here is weird, right? Like, it’s always twilight outside in space but we’re pretending days are a thing? Makes me all jittery and stuff,” Hunk said, speaking quickly. “Make it hard to sleep at the right time, too.”

Pidge made a noncommittal noise, having resumed typing while Hunk babbled.

“I was up anyways, you know, getting a midnight snack- that food goo, man, it always hits the spot. Course, the spot is several levels below edible and definitely somewhere tasteless, but hey. It’s what we’ve got, right?”

Pidge hit the enter key emphatically, and looked up at Yellow in expectation. Hunk followed their gaze, and then shuddered.

“Oh, she does NOT like that. Not at all.” Hunk shivered, pulling the robe closer. It was the weirdest feeling, like nails scraping a chalkboard in a classroom three doors down; it made Hunk feel queasy.

Pidge looked at Hunk, peering over their glasses at him.

“Wait- you can feel that?”

Hunk nodded, swallowing thickly. He was afraid to open his mouth.

  
Pidge frowned, looking between Yellow and Hunk. They typed something rapidly on the laptop and the buzzing in Hunk’s head gradually subsided to a dull thrum and then finally silence. He let out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding and opened his eyes to Pidge staring at him.

“What? Don’t you and Green feel stuff too?” Hunk asked defensively.

“Yeah, but not like that.” Pidge gestured to all of Hunk. “I was running a diagnostic- trying to see how Voltron would react to a computer virus. I wanted to see if we would know- if the Galra infected Voltron.” Pidge set the laptop aside.

“After what they did to the castle, that’s not a bad idea,” Hunk agreed, moving to fiddle with the wires connecting to Yellow. He repositioned a few of them to have a better connection, moving around the lion with a graceful familiarity.

“I think we’re gonna know, though,” Hunk said, patting the giant yellow forearm of his space robot. “Yellow was super grumpy even before the program ran.” Hunk resisted the urge to climb up and rest the back of his hand on Yellow’s forehead.

“Really? That’s fascinating.” Their stomach rumbled. Hunk raised an eyebrow at Pidge.

“Did you forget to eat again? I swear, I don’t know how that’s possible,” he said. “Come on, food goo’s on me. Coran won’t even know it’s missing.” Hunk nodded towards the kitchen, not taking no for an answer. Pidge started to pack up the laptop and gear, and Hunk helped, placing everything in the backpack with the utmost care.

On the way they asked Hunk questions about what that experience was like, and Hunk answered to the best of his ability. Pidge jotted notes down as they talked.

“Wait a sec- why didn’t you start with Green?” Hunk asked, sliding a plate of cookies across the table to Pidge. Hunk had been saving them for later; his most recent test batch came out almost like normal Earth cookies- with the stunning exception that they were bright green. He had a few suspicions as to why Pidge was up so late, why they had skipped dinner- and why they seemed to be even more withdrawn than usual. He would need all the ammunition he could get to get Pidge to open up.

Pidge fiddled with the pencil, taking a cookie instead of responding.

“Whoa, Hunk- these are good! Almost there,” Pidge replied, dodging the question. Hunk grinned back at them, taking one for himself.

“Yeah- I used the dehydrator to make food goo flour, and then tried some of those weird soy plant things from the last planet to try and bind it all together. I’m just missing some vanilla to make everything really pop,” he said, not falling for the distraction.  
“So, why’d you use Yellow instead of Green?” he asked, leaning in intently. As Pidge reached for another space cookie, Hunk slid the plate out of their reach. “No talkie, no cookie,” he said, giving Pidge a crooked smile.

He might have been the biggest paladin, but that didn’t make him the slowest- mentally or otherwise.

Pidge made another aborted effort to reach the snacks, but Hunk stood firm. He waited patiently, content to stay until Pidge spoke, or left. He hoped that it would be the former; he still wouldn’t press if it was the latter.

“Green is running a different program,” Pidge said finally, almost mumbling. “Looking for any trace of the Kerberos- of my family,” they said softly, not looking at Hunk. He slid the plate of cookies back towards Pidge, but otherwise did not speak.

“I thought that by retooling the proximity sensors- the ones that allow us to form Voltron- I could cast a wider net and pick up any Galra signals.” Pidge took another cookie, biting it almost viciously.

“It hasn’t turned up anything,” Hunk said softly.

“No. But then I thought maybe- what if we did pick up Galra signals- and after what happened on Arus with the ship that exploded- I thought I should maybe see what internal defenses we could make-” Pidge trailed off, sentences half-finished and almost manic. They looked up at Hunk finally. Pidge looked panicked, manic with anxiety and fear and utter exhaustion.

“And Yellow is the next door, right, I got you,” Hunk said quietly. He took a cookie himself and chewed thoughtfully.

“You know we’re gonna get them back, right? We won’t stop until we do.” Hunk put a tentative hand on Pidge’s shoulder. When they didn’t move away, Hunk slid closer and hugged Pidge. He felt them shudder in his embrace but didn’t let go.

“It’s gonna be okay, Pidge. It’s gonna be okay,” Hunk said softly, willing himself to believe it too. Pidge sniffled, burying their face in Hunk’s plentiful chest.

“I got you. I’m a leg, remember? You can stand on me. I got you, okay?” he murmured, feeling the wetness of Pidge’s tears through his pajamas. His heart ached for them, for himself, for all the lost little paladins facing the depth of space with only each other for help. They all stood against tyranny, against an enemy they could barely comprehend and most of them just wanted to go home.

Pidge’s tears subsided after long moments; time stretched around them, forever elastic. Hunk kept up a quiet stream of comfort, speaking quietly long after Pidge quieted. He suspected they were asleep, but he kept talking anyways. Moving as smoothly as he could, he stood and took Pidge with him. Carrying them like a tired child, Hunk made his way to Pidge’s quarters; he made sure to take the route least likely to run into anyone else who might be restless. Pidge would not thank him for exposing their vulnerabilities to the others.

Hunk had to adjust Pidge slightly as he palmed the controls, praying to whatever space gods there were that the door would open. The lock lit green and Hunk slipped into Pidge’s space.

The room was a wreck- photographs and printouts were everywhere, connected by string and hope. Hunk felt his chest go tight at the sight of the Holt siblings, smiling in a photo nearest Pidge’s bed. He slid the sleeping Pidge into their bed, dragging the covers over their sleeping form. He would protect them, if it was the last thing he ever did. He’d protect them all- the paladins, Allura & Coran, Shay and her people.

Hunk slid silently out of the room.

What use was being strong if he couldn’t save them?


End file.
